Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 49215 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49215 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
“But I’m telling the truth!” he yelled. “I don’t know where they are!”
I cocked a brow.
River beat me to it and spoke first. “But you know who they are.”
“No! I mean—fuck! I’m not fuckin’ deaf, am I?! I heard it on the news like everybody else!” He began wasting what precious little energy he had left on thrashing against his restraints. “We’re at war with Blanco,” he growled. “You think I give a shit about a random woman and some kid—or this Shay guy? That’s not my goddamn territory.”
Bullshit. They weren’t organized enough—more than that, they didn’t have enough manpower on Carillo’s side to have responsibilities nobody else knew about. Based on Willow’s research, Ramirez’s research, and our work, we knew Carillo had, at most, twenty to thirty guys left in California who were alive and loyal to him. Most of them were sicarios, hustlers, and other low-men who’d been promised a nicer rank or money—or both—if they sold their loyalty to Carillo.
River chewed and swallowed what was in his mouth before he tilted his head at me. “I don’t know about you, but the thought of us buying this horseshit is offensive to me.”
I nodded and stood up. On my way to the back of Luiz’s chair, I finished my sandwich and brushed the breadcrumbs off my chest.
“You don’t wanna shoot him?” Riv asked casually.
I shook my head and bent down, grasping Luiz’s restrained hands. “When the bullet goes straight through, it’ll create a hole in the plastic. Talk about unnecessary cleanup.”
Instead, I broke his left middle finger—just pulled it flat against the back of his hand.
He let out a blood-curdling scream. He started shaking too, and he tried to ball his hands into fists, and that wasn’t easy. Not on the hand that hurt him more than the radial nerve, at least.
“Any tingling sensation in the nerves now, buddy?” I asked.
“You s-sick motherfucker!” he snarled.
A spark of anger shot through me, and I rounded the chair to get in his face. “You haven’t seen me sick yet. You have my word. Sick…is when I slit your cousin’s throat in front of you and let his blood give you a nice little shower.”
He panted and groaned, then spat in my face.
Count to ten. Deep breaths.
I drew in a deep breath and walked over to River. I poured more water over my face and used my discarded tee to dry off.
He’d spat in my face. The fuckin’… Nope, couldn’t do it. My anger exploded, flooding me with heat, and I turned around, closed the distance, and kicked him hard in his chest, sending him and the chair flying backward.
Luiz cried out and choked, and I was on him in an instant. I hovered over him and pushed him down, effectively trapping his arms between the edge of the chair and the solid concrete floor.
“Tell me where Shay Tenley is!”
“I don’t know, I don’t know!” he screamed. “Ow, fuck, oww! I don’t know!”
“Tell me where he is!” I yelled.
“I swear I-I d-don’t know!” he wailed. “Just that—” He coughed and spluttered, and I quickly hauled him up a few inches off the floor, easing the pressure on his trapped arms.
“Just that, what?” I growled.
I clenched my jaw, fuming, the rage pouring out of me, and if River didn’t stop me, this son of a bitch would draw his last breath too soon. He fucking knew something. I knew he did. Zero doubt. He was the key. He was standing in my way of getting our boy back.
“They’re kept separate,” Luiz choked out. “The woman and the child—they’re at another location. But I swear I don’t know where!”
“Reese.”
River’s voice flipped a switch within me, and the red-tinted fury was pushed back into its confines.
I gnashed my teeth so hard I might crush my molars, but I managed to restrain myself, and I yanked Luiz’s chair back up again. He couldn’t talk. He was gagging on his own cries.
River jerked his chin toward the open doors. “Take a walk.”
I nodded with a dip of my chin and walked out, feeling like a caged animal. It was more, too. It felt as if I had Shay with me, walking alongside me, trying to get my attention, pleading with me to hear him, to find him.
I picked up the smokes on my way and lit one up the second I was outside.
“Fuck,” I exhaled, fumbling with the lighter. My fingers were trembling.
I took a deep drag from the smoke and heard River’s voice behind me; he was talking to Luiz.
“I’m gonna give you somethin’ to think about until we try this again.”
I blew out some smoke and peered over my shoulder.
River brushed his fingers over Luiz’s shoulder, as if he was dusting off lint. “This ain’t our first cartel circus, Luiz. We know y’all have facilitators who make locations pop up like magic—they rent lots, they find you cars, they plan escape routes, they work out the logistics. Give me a name within the next couple of hours, or Reese breaks the rest of your fingers and fractures your trachea. It’s right here—every breath will hurt.”